Lax Link-O-Rama

The Invention of Lying is hysterical. Netflix that. Now that we have that out of the way, we can get back to lacrosse. The Hopkins-Manhattan game was on ESPNU last night and it wasn’t even close. Hop looked good although they were clearly the much better team so it’s no surprise it wasn’t close. Having seen them, I like Hopkins to improve as the season progresses and this team will be dangerous in the late spring. Last year was a down year by Blue Jay standards and they look like they have a strong foundation going early.

The Olympics coverage has improved a bit although I still have my complaints. Next time they need to do women’s halfpipe first, it’s a letdown after watching Shaun White. Watching the other guys is kind of a let down as well. He’s the Mikey Powell when MP was still MP. I’ll admit it, I still wish he played. It was a lot of fun to watch.

I like Cuse as the #1 team right now and think they have to be the favorites to win it again this year. A lot of other people are pushing Duke to the number 1 spot and I’ll let you be the judge in the end but Cuse has an attack that can score with anyone, strong middies, good poles and an experienced goalkeeper. I like their chances and can’t see why people are betting against them already. Duke is good, but has long-term question marks like their keeper and depth at the midfield. I expect to be proven wrong by Duke sooner or later but I’ll stick with it until then. I still think they’re number 2 or 3 with Virginia in the mix as well. Hop is probably my 4 and UNC, UMd, ND, Cornell, Princeton and Denver round out my top 10. Denver is in there. Yes. They are at 10. The rest are somewhere tbd. Navy and Harvard are also going to challenge this year.

A team with a bit more of a longshot’s chance of taking home the hardware is Loyola and since they’re taking on Navy this weekend and it’s Maryland lacrosse, the programs share some common bonds. Lacrosse is growing but there are still areas where there is clearly an inner circle… this isn’t a bad thing either, it creates some of the best coaching and playing talent in the world.

Central Michigan is spending the weekend in Minnesota as they take on UMD and Minnesota. #4 UMD will be a good challenge for anyone and Minnesota has good school colors.

Texas Tech and TCU are also going back to battle this weekend and I love how intense Texas rivalries are. Lacrosse has really been taking off in Texas for a while now and it’s great to see colleges fielding really competitive teams in the lone star state. Texas is at the top of the heap but these other schools will continue to press for supremacy.

For teams that haven’t really started yet, you can check out IL for a preview of the top teams in Men’s D1 and D3. You can also go to the LaxPower forums where inside information is always available from their knowlegable base of users.

We’re also happy to show off, for the first time on the internet, ever, a new pair of shorts from StrikerDanger. They’re perfect for people who play Magic: The Gathering, love Twilight or even hipsters. That’s right, StrikerDanger has come up with more ridiculous lax gear. From the guys over at SD:

Based on the overnight success and cult following of the “Three Wolf Moon” t-shirt on Amazon.com, StrikerDanger decided to ride the wave which took awesome (Wolves), to awesome-er (Wolves on the t-shirt) and create a wild fire of Awesom-er-ness (Wolves on Shorts w/fur lined pockets). The shorts are dubbed “One Man Wolfpack” and will be available on the website in very limited numbers within the next couple weeks.

So far the 412 picking challenge hasn’t been too tough but I bet as the season progresses we’re going to see more and more upsets. There are a bunch of very good teams out there in most of the divisions including all 3 NCAA men’s divisions. Michigan is the clear number 1 in the MCLA D1 ranks but that doesn’t mean they’re unbeatable (although they have lately been literally unbeatable), it just means you’re really going to have to bring it. I’ll leave all the MCLA D2 coverage to The Lax because I really shouldn’t speak on something I know nothing about. I’m working on it though.

Manufacturers are entering the web all over again with site redesigns, Twitter accounts and Facebook giveaways. The online presence lacrosse has had has always been pretty good because of the people involved. They cared and made it happen. You know the sport is growing when the large companies start getting serious. Big things a’ comin’!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ About the Author: Connor is a pretty average lacrosse player at this point who doesn’t know when to give up on the game. He played and coached in the NESCAC and still plays for the Southampton LC in NYC. Connor lives with his fiance in Brooklyn and thanks her for allowing him to keep the dream alive.

About the author

Connor Wilson

Connor is the Publisher of LacrosseAllStars.com. He lives in Brooklyn with his better half, continues to play and coach both box and field lacrosse in NYC as much as possible, and covers the great game that is lacrosse full-time. He spends his spare time stringing sticks and watching Futurama.